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Flowers For Algernon(Book) - College Term Papers

Flowers For Algernon(Book)

In the short story “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes, the
main character Charlie Gordon has an IQ of 68 and desires to become
intelligent. He is chosen to undergo an operation to increase his
intelligence level to 204, however he is unaware of the consequences
that may follow. His experiment is not worth the risk because he
realizes that humans can be cruel, the experiment is not permanent, and he loses his friends and job.
One of the reasons Charlie’s experience is not worth the risk is he realizes that humans can be cruel. This is seen throughout the story for example in the way Charlie Gordon’s so-called friends treat him. After the operation, on of Charlie’s friends Joe Carp ...

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can’t help what he is. But he’s still a human being.” Charlie also does not realizethat his friends are laughing at him and not with him until his IQ beginsto increase, and he figures out what Joe Carp and Frank Riley mean by “he pulled a Charlie Gordon.”
Another reason the operation is not worth the risk is because the
operation is not permanent. Before the operation, Charlie has an IQ of 68 he can write but his spelling is not very good. Charlie’s IQ increases to 204 after having the operation. Algernon a mouse that undergoes the same operation, starts to change. Charlie writes in one of his progress reports about how Algernon begins to change “ Burt, who is in charge of the experimental animals, tells me that Algernon is changing. He is less co-operative he refuses to run the maze anymore. general motivation has
decreased.” Charlie now starts to change when his IQ begins to
decrease. Charlie begins to with draw from the doctors and Miss.
Kinnion and wants to be alone.
...

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Flowers For Algernon(Book). (2005, July 1). Retrieved January 11, 2026, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Flowers-For-Algernon-Book/29394

"Flowers For Algernon(Book)." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 1 Jul. 2005. Web. 11 Jan. 2026. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Flowers-For-Algernon-Book/29394>

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 7/1/2005 10:35:56 PM
Category: English
Type: Free Paper
Words: 588
Pages: 3

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